Tuesday, April 8, 2014

April 8 (BBC News Europe) Tensions are rising in the
eastern Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk, as pro-Russian
demonstrators occupy government buildings.
Meanwhile, the Russian media look on and mull whether it's time for their
country to step in - or even to annex more of its neighbour's territory.

Russian militants are raising the stakes in eastern Ukraine

"Current events hardly seem
real," writes Dimitriy Durnev in
Novyye Izvestiya, "and reminds one a lot of a film." Mikhail
Rostovskiy in Russian daily Moskovskiy Komsomolets callsthe
situation "a tornado, a hurricane that sweeps away everything in its path
and does not recognize any state borders". He continues:

Theeast of Ukraine was not the one to throw the first stone in the
conflict. It only took on a challenge that it was confronted with. Theeast of Ukraine is trying to talk to thewest of Ukraine in the only language the latter understands... The
inevitable conclusion is that it is time for Ukrainian servants of the people
from all regions to again start mastering the political art that has been
completely lost in the country - the art of negotiating.

Russian author and political
dissident Eduard Limonov writesin
Izvestiya that he is not surprised by the recent turn of events.

"I predicted many years ago
that the independence Ukraine got for free might not stand the first serious
endurance test. And this is exactly what has happened," he writes.

What occurs next, he continues,
is up to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I advise him to make
Donbass [in eastern Ukraine] part of Russia," he says. "The West will
not hamper this. And relations with them have been spoilt forever. We
understood that they wanted to make Ukraine a base for attacking Russia and to
take hostage eight million Russians living in Ukraine. This will not
happen."

Russia is facing a
"difficult choice", writesSergey
Frolov in Trud:

Diplomatic methods of settling the intensifying
crisis in Ukraine are still available. But if Kiev decides to play an
all-or-nothing game and blood is shed in the south-east, talk will be of no use
any more... The key thing is obvious: Ukraine is missing its last chance to
preserve its statehood and territorial integrity.

Suffer sanctions-even from Germany, whichhas proved most loyal in the given circumstances-that would extend beyond the Ozero cooperative
[nickname for businessmen close toMrPutin] and would most certainly worsen the already
not-so-brilliant situation in the Russian economy, or disappoint overjoyed
Russians who, having got the gift of Crimea, are prepared for new gifts. I
think in the vision of values held by the Russian leader the second option is
much worse.